Soul Train
by ApplePajama
Summary: After leaving the previous dimension, our travelers arrive in a world where a train endlessly travels on rails built on the sky. While lounging in a cart that they can't seem to leave, they encounter a reaper with the same face as Syaoran. From this poker-faced Syaoran, they find out the purpose and destination of the train as a new passenger in the train joins them in the cart.


"It's time to go to the next world!" Mokona cheerfully shouts while she spreads her wings and swallows the travelers. "Woah!" the travelers say in unison. Mokona then flies into the small portal created by the magic circle on the floor. The people the travelers met in the world they left shouted their goodbyes just before they were swallowed. After a few minutes, the travelers arrive in the next world. The travelers were inside of a cart of a train travelling in the sky. The train tracks were lain onto nothing and the train didn't seem to have an end. The red-orange painted sky outside the window evidently showed that it was afternoon in the dimension that they were in.

"This is..." Fai trails off.

"A train?" Syaoran continues as he scans the surroundings with his ever observant amber eyes. He couldn't find a single soul in the cart except for themselves.

"Hmmm... And it seems we're traveling in the sky. Look, I see nothing but clouds outside," Fai comments.

"Alright, White Pork Bun. Where did you bring us now?" Kurogane growls in annoyance as he grabs Mokona from Syaoran's head.

"Kyaaa! Mokona really doesn't know," Mokona says while trying to wriggle out of Kurogane's iron grip.

"This train doesn't seem to have an end. All I see are more carts on each end that my eyes can see and nobody seems to be on board this train besides us," Syaoran observes as he takes a look outside to try to find the control cart ahead in vain. Kurogane tries to open the door leading to the next cart but it wouldn't budge. "What the-?" Kurogane says.

"Hmmm... It seems we'll be stuck in this cart for the time being until someone comes. Why don't we relax for the time? Besides, we can't do anything about it for now," Fai suggests as he takes a seat on one of the many empty benches in the train.

"Humph! You're too easy-going," Kurogane states. Nonetheless, he took a seat a few benches away from Fai. He spouts some insults directed at the magician, but it doesn't seem to have an effect since Fai just gives him a care-free smile. Meanwhile, Syaoran, sitting on a bench farthest from Fai, still keeps staring outside the window. Mokona hops onto Syaoran's head, which surprised the boy.

"Mokona?" Syaoran says.

"Mokona feels relaxed while riding this train, even though it feels a little weird here. Does Syaoran feel the same way as Mokona feels?" Mokona asks.

"Yeah, a little, but somehow I feel like I shouldn't be here," Syaoran wistfully replies.

"Exactly," an unknown voice was suddenly heard at the end of the cart. This made the travelers jump in surprise for they were sure that nobody was inside this particular cart except for their party. They look at the end of the cart and see a man wearing a black cloak with the hood covering most of his face and carrying a huge scythe.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Kurogane asks suspiciously.

The man unveils his hood and reveals the face of an older poker-faced Syaoran, which surprised the travelers, Syaoran especially. "Hold on. What are you?" Kurogane asks.

"I am what you see I am," the man answers curtly with a poker face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurogane asks in annoyance.

"Um, does that mean, you're Syaoran as well?" Mokona asks timidly.

"It depends upon what you want to call me. All of my clients are named 'Li Syaoran' and that is a permanent and inevitable circumstance," the man answers again with his inscrutable face, giving away nothing of his emotion of the event.

"Excuse me, since you seem to be a resident of this dimension," Syaoran starts to speak up.

_"Dimension?" _the Reaper Syaoran asks himself mentally, without giving any facial expressions.

"May I ask you a few questions?" Syaoran continues.

The Reaper Syaoran scrutinized Syaoran while still maintaining a poker face. He looks at Syaoran in the eyes and answers, "It depends on what your questions are all about."

"Mokona has a weird feeling about this older Syaoran," Mokona whispers into Fai's ear.

"Don't worry. I don't think he's a bad guy. He's Syaoran after all," Fai comforts Mokona.

"Humph! Don't be such a wuss," Kurogane says under his breath.

"You say that but you don't seem to be very fond of him yourself," Mokona complains a little louder than she should have. The Reaper Syaoran stares at their direction. "Oops!" Mokona says in a rush.

"Humph!" Kurogane turns away.

"Oh, don't mind us. We're just having a chat," Fai quickly explains.

The Reaper Syaoran just shrugged at the answer given to him. He then returns his attention to Syaoran and asks, "What is it you want to ask me?"

"I'd like to know where this train is going, if that isn't too much of a question to ask," Syaoran answers.

The Reaper Syaoran looks outside the window and answers without looking at Syaoran, "This train is going to the Spirit World."

"Spirit World?" Kurogane asks now in full attention towards the Reaper Syaoran.

The Reaper Syaoran nods in reply.

"So this Spirit World you're saying... Is it a world where the souls of people go after death? Are you supposed to be a soul reaper or something?" Fai asks.

"Indeed, if that is what your culture label us such," the Reaper Syaoran answers curtly, but continues,"but this is an unusual sight."

"What is?" Mokona asks with all her courage.

"The three of you are," the Reaper Syaoran says while eying Fai, Kurogane and Mokona, "I don't allow other passengers in my cart other than Li Syaoran," The travelers looked at each other with puzzled expressions until he continues, "but maybe I should say the same to you as well." Now piercing Syaoran with his ice-cold amber eyes.

"What does that mean?" Kurogane asks with irritation.

"Well, at least we now know why we're the only ones here. We came from another world and we don't have any control over the places that we end up arriving. However, you said that you don't allow other passengers aside from Li Syaoran, but why should you say the same thing to the boy when he, himself, is also Li Syaoran? He may not have been born with the name, but he is the real deal," Fai asks cunningly with a grin. The Reaper Syaoran takes out a silver pocket watch and opens the cover. He seemingly looks at the time and says, "It is not yet his time."

"Wait. You said earlier that I'm not supposed to be here. What do you mean by that?" Syaoran asks in curiosity.

"As I said just now, it is not yet your time," the Reaper Syaoran answers still maintaining a poker face even after being bombarded by questions. Mokona jumps onto Syaoran's head and tries to take a peek on the pocket watch only to find out that it doesn't have any numbers, a second hand, a minute hand and a hour hand.

"Huh? It doesn't have any hands nor numbers. How can you tell by just looking at this?" Mokona questions now feeling a little more confidence in herself.

"This pocket watch is only for the eyes of reapers; the dead and the living are forbidden to look at its time. I can tell if Li Syaoran's time in the mortal world has ended when the hour hand strikes twelve."

"I'm curious. How much time does Syaoran have?" Fai questions.

"That is a question that I am forbidden to answer," says the Reaper Syaoran. He turns to face the exit of the cart and slowly floats up to take a seat on the baggage shelf. While this was happening, his body is evidently changing into a very young Syaoran, which made the travelers surprised, only leaving his clothes and scythe in it's original size.

"What the-? He's turned into a kid," Kurogane states the obvious. The now younger Reaper Syaoran looks at the left sleeve of his oversized tunic as if he just noticed the obvious. "So it seems..." he says indifferently.

"This may be my youngest client yet," he continues. The train slowly comes to a stop, which the travelers didn't expect. The door of the cart opens and a very young Syaoran enters the train with an obvious confusion present on his face. The Reaper Syaoran jumps off the baggage shelf and his hood automatically covers his face from the force of the wind. "What has caused you to board this train?" the Reaper Syaoran asks the young Syaoran.

"Humph! Isn't it obvious? The kid's dead," Kurogane says under his breath.

"I think he's asking him what killed him," Fai whispers.

"Aw... But he's such a young Syaoran. Maybe he died because of a disease? Just thinking about it makes Mokona sad," Mokona comments glumily. Syaoran attentively watches the whole situation unfold in front of him. The young Syaoran looks down to think, but answers, "I... I don't know. I don't remember anything before this."

The Reaper Syaoran stares at the young Syaoran which caused a deafening silence. "In that case," he finally speaks. The young Syaoran looks up only to see the Reaper Syaoran twirl his scythe in the air with his hands. The travelers gasped at what they're seeing, already predicting what the Reaper Syaoran was about to do.

"Hold on!" Syaoran reacts.

"Wait!" Fai says quickly.

"Get out of the way, kid!" Kurogane shouts as he runs toward the young Syaoran.

"Kyaaaaaa!" Mokona shouts, covering her eyes.

The Reaper Syaoran ignores all their reactions. He stops twirling his scythe in the air and continues to say with unmoving ice-cold eyes, "I'll make you remember." The young Syaoran's eyes widen just before the Reaper Syaoran's scythe slashed him diagonally.

"Am I going to die?" the young Syaoran thought to himself as he falls back on the ground from the force of the slash. After the Reaper Syaoran slashed the young Syaoran, their surroundings distorted to form an alleyway in an urban setting.

"What just happened?" Syaoran asks himself.

"Look! It seems the young Syaoran is still with us," Mokona pointing out that the Reaper Syaoran helping the young Syaoran stand. "Are you okay?" the Reaper Syaoran asks while not giving a hint of expression on his face. The young Syaoran feels his body for injury only to find there's none. "Apparently, I'm fine. What did you just do?" the young Syaoran says.

"I made an opening into your memory. This is your memory before you died," the Reaper Syaoran answers.

"Before... I died?" the young Syaoran asnwers in disbelief. The Reaper Syaoran nods in reply and points his scythe to one end of the alleyway, which made the young Syaoran and the travelers look on the same direction. The sound of steps can be heard and it's getting louder. The young Syaoran and the travelers silently anticipate who's coming their way, which is revealed to be the same young Syaoran they are with. The group watch as the young Syaoran's memory play before their eyes, while the Reaper Syaoran seems to already know what is about to happen.

In young Syaoran's memory, he already seemed to be familiar with the alleyway. Suddenly a man grabs him from the side and intoxicates him to the point that he stops struggling and loses consciousness. The group, except for the Reaper Syaoran, gasped at what they were seeing. The man then brings the young Syaoran into the building its backdoor in the alley and slams the door shut.

The surrounding suddenly distorts like before and now they're in a cell-like place. In the young Syaoran's memory, this time they see the young boy lying unconsciously inside a locked cell. "The poor Syaoran," Mokona comments. The young Syaoran they are currently with gulped, anticipating what was about to happen.

"The Heir to the Li Enterprise. Just like you ordered," says the same man who kidnapped the young Syaoran.

"Splendid. You will recieve your payment tomorrow. You may go on your way," says another man who seemed to be the mastermind of all this. The man that kidnapped the young Syaoran leaves the room, leaving only the boss and some other men who seemed to be the mastermind's grunts. The boss chuckles evilly as he eyes the young Syaoran. "With you out of the picture," the boss starts, "the Lis will be left with no heir. This will be the immediate downfall of the Li Clan." The boss now starts to laugh like a maniac and gestures to the men with him. His henchmen came closer to the young Syaoran as the boss heads for the exit. "You may start," the boss says before he left the room. After the sound of the door closing, the henchmen are revealed to be carrying iron bars. Syaoran immediately knew what was about to happen, so he covers Mokona's eyes and ears. The henchmen start to hit the young Syaoran with the iron bars they had. At times, they kick him everywhere on his body. Sometimes, they would throw him around in the cell like a sack. It was a very gruesome sight that even Kurogane looked away. Meanwhile, the Reaper Syaoran looked unaffected and watched the whole thing.

The surrounding distorted once again, but this time, they're in a port. The henchmen they saw earlier in the cell are now dragging a sack that leaves a trail of blood behind it.

"Could it be... Inside the sack..." Syaoran speaks.

"Inside it must be the young Syaoran during this ordeal," Fai grimly says.

The henchmen hoisted the sack which contained the young Syaoran and threw it into the ocean.

The series of events end as the surroundings once again distorted, returning them back into the train cart they were familiar with. Silence engulfed the cart that they didn't even notice the soft noise the train was making as it travelled on the rails. The young Syaoran they are currently with is now crouching and holding tightly on his forearms with a traumatized look on his face, while the Reaper Syaoran just stares at him with the poker face he is now famous of. The Reaper Syaoran breaks the silence when he asks, "Now, do you remember?"

"You bastard!" Kurogane reacts as pushes through the others to get his hands onto the reaper.

"Kuro!" Fai, Syaoran and Mokona say in unison.

Kurogane just ignores their retorts. He approaches the Reaper Syaoran and grabs the latter's collar, making the Reaper Syaoran's feet not able to touch the ground. The Reaper Syaoran finally gets a taste of the iron grip that Kurogane is famous for. "How could you show all those things to the kid? I don't see any reason for you to show him how he died," Kurogane continues angrily. The Reaper Syaoran just stares at Kurogane, not giving away any emotions.

"I was still alive," the young Syaoran suddenly speaks. The Reaper Syaoran looks at the young Syaoran with the corner of his eyes.

"I was still alive," the young Syaoran repeats and then continues in a cracked voice, "When they put me into the sack. I was still hanging onto life even when they brought me to the port to be thrown into the ocean. I tried to call for help, but my throat was so damaged that no sound came out of me." There was a few seconds of silence until he continued in a more wrathful manner, "When they threw me into the ocean, I vowed to get my revenge. I swear, I will avenge myself someday and hope that the same thing will happen to them. Curse them and their family!"

"Such hatred as this is unbelievable for a child," Fai comments.

The Reaper Syaoran returns his attention to Kurogane. He grabs Kurogane's wrist and easily yanks off the latter's hand from his collar and lands on his feet. This surprised everyone, especially Kurogane, of how easily the Reaper Syaoran was able to escape and the strength he had in him. The Reaper Syaoran faces the young Syaoran and asks, "Did you desire it?"

The young Syaoran looks up to the Reaper Syoaran. "Did you desire it? Did you desire revenge back then?" he asks the young Syaoran once again.

"Yes," the young Syaoran answers.

"Do you still desire it now?" the Reaper Syaoran asks another question.

The young Syaoran nods in reply without a second thought.

The Reaper Syaoran closed his eyes as if to think and opens them once again, then he hits the floor with the end of the hilt of his scythe and with a thud their surroundings distort once again.

"What is it this time?" the annoyed Kurogane asks.

This time, they find themselves in a cemetery. In the distance, they can see the young Syaoran beside a man lying a bundle of flowers on a grave.

"Dad..." the young Syaoran calls softly.

"Yes, son?" the man answers.

"Have you ever thought of avenging Mom?"

"I'm sorry. Can you repeat what you just said?"

"Forget it. I don't think you're the type of guy who would consider avenging someone."

"Revenge, eh?" The man trails off as he stares at his wife's grave. "Believe it or not, I once thought of it," the man says to the young Syaoran. The young Syaoran's eyes widen in surprise. He continues, "I once thought of doing the same thing to the murderer as he did to your Mom, but I decided that I should know better. Hatred will only lead to more hatred. Revenge will only spark the drive of revenge of other people. If you avenge somebody you hold dear, the family members of the person you had your vengence upon will also seek revenge. Hatred is a cycle which is hard to escape from. It is like the blood that flows into your veins. You are already born with it and the only way you are going to realize that is by getting injured. Once one revenge succeeds, another's happiness is lost and the spark of vengence keeps the hatred alive. They say you become a man when you get your revenge, but I say you will only become a monster. This is why I never thought of avenging your mother ever again. I'm telling you now, never seek revenge for anybody; not for me, not for your mom, not for anybody and especialy not for yourself. Else, you will only end up as a monster."

"R-right," the young Syaoran says a little crestfallen but intends to heed his father's words.

"Right," the man says while he stands up, "It's time for us to go. Now, say goodbye to your Mother."

The scene ends when the surrounding distorts into the train. Silence once again fills the cart. The silence was broken when the young Syaoran starts to mumble.

"Dad... You told me not to desire revenge, but why? I still don't understand even when you explained everything to me. Is it really so wrong to try to avenge someone? Avenge yourself?" The Reaper Syaoran doesn't say anything and intends to let the young Syaoran figure out everything by himself.

"I think what he was trying to say is to never avenge anybody or else you will cast a curse upon yourself," Syaoran explain.

"A curse?"

Syaoran nods and says, "A curse that has no way to break it. You will be haunted by it and your life will never be the same. Think about it, if your father did seek revenge, do you think he would've still remained the same? I, for one, don't think so. The probability of him getting obsessed about it is very high."

"Yeah, but Dad wasn't the type to get obsessed with something so easily.

"Humph! Everybody gets obsessed with revenge easily, kid," say Kurogane, "I got into it myself and it leaves a bad after taste. I would've been driven mad if Princess Tomoyo hasn't found me."

"I also once wanted to avenge my brother, but it seems that wasn't something he wanted." Fai chuckles weakly and continues, "I almost lost myself and was about to lose the things I already had that time. Good thing I snapped out of it on time before I could've killed any of my companions."

"Mokona also seeked revenge when Black Mokona stole Mokona's cake. But Mokona realized that Black Mokona hasn't tasted my cake before, so Mokona let Black Mokona slip away," Mokona tries to reason out.

"How is that related to our situation?" Kurogane sarcastically.

"Huhuhu... Kurogane is so mean," Mokona complains to Fai and Fai tries to comfort her.

This time the young Syaoran stares at Syaoran as if expecting something from him. Syaoran just smiles at him and says, "You're expecting me to tell you about my own experience, aren't you?" The young Syaoran feeling a little embarrassed but somewhat more peaceful nods in reply. Syaoran just gives him a warmer smile and says, "Well, I did once felt the spark of hatred. I could've already killed that man, if I knew that he would take everything from me. He could've already been dead before he could even had the chance to cause us trouble if I had the power to do so." Syaoran kneels on one leg and is now in the eye level of the young Syaoran. He continues more softly, "This man took away everything from me; my old normal life, my childhood, my home, my friends and my parents. He even almost took away my most precious person, but it's a good thing that he didn't get a chance or else I would've lost myself. As if taking away everything from me wasn't enough, he also meddled with my friends' lives in order for his plans to pull through."

"Did you finish him off?" the young Syaoran asks wide-eyed.

"I did."

"Bah! You shouldn't have told the kid. Now he'll start thinking that revenge is everything again," Kurogane spat.

"But he was already dead to begin with, a puppet of fate and obsessed with the thought of bringing the dead back to life," Syaoran explains.

"So does that mean..." the young Syaoran trails off.

"I did him a favor," Syaoran finishes.

"Syaoran's lying again," Mokona whispers into Fai's ear.

"Yup, Syaoran's an expert at this. Although he does have a point," Fai whispers back.

"Humph! That kid..." Kurogane says under his breath while grinning.

"I see..." the young Syaoran says as he tries to digest everything.

"Are you satisfied?" the Reaper Syaoran asks out of the blue.

The young Syaoran looks down, giving a hint of dissatisfaction. The Reaper Syaoran sensed this, so he points the blade of his scythe to his right, which made everyone to look in the same direction. The whole right side of the room has now turned into a view from inside a church facing the door. Many reporters and journalists are gathered at the entrance of the church and the man standing in front of the door is the young Syaoran's father, looking more haggard than they remember. The reporters and journalists bombard him with questions that shouldn't be asked during a funeral under normal circumstances.

"President Li, how do you feel, after days of searching for your missing son, only to find him mutilated inside a sack and thrown into the sea?" one reporter asks.

"President Li! President Li, will you do everything in your power to find out the culprit and give him a piece of something he deserves?" another reporter asks.

"Mr. Li, what will happen to the Li Enterprise now that the only heir is now on his way to the cemetery?" one journalist asks without a hint of consideration.

Li tries his best to maintain a calm and composed face in front of the media-men, but it was obvious that he couldn't take it anymore and dismissed them as politely as he could, "Will everyone please excuse me? I just want to have an alone time with my son, so could you please leave?" After saying what he needed to say, he goes inside the church closing the door with a soft thud. Inside the church, the calm and composed manner he tried so hard to keep melts as he cries while covering his face with his hand and he slumps down to the floor. The person whom the young Syaoran thought as the strongest man he had known is now the broken man crouching on the floor.

"Dad..." the young Syaoran says wistfully in the background.

After minutes that seemed like hours of mourning for his son, President Li finally finds the strength to stand up and walk towards his son's coffin. He looks at his almost unrecognizable son with grief. Suddenly, he hears the door of the church open which made him look towards its direction. A man, the same man who is the boss who was responsible for the death of the young Syaoran, enters the church. "Greetings," he says. "How are you fairing these days?"

"Shut it, Zhou. You don't care about anything but yourself and your business," Li says curtly.

"Ah, but I came to give my condolence," Zhou says.

"Don't joke with me. I'm not in the mood," says Li crankily.

"Humph! I'm just giving you my deepest apology," Zhou says with no hint of apology in his voice. This made Li snap and he grabs Zhou's collar in anger. "Woah! What do you think you're doing? I never knew that you were capable of doing this, but, then again, your family is know for it's notorious past," Zhou says, trying to look as if he were panicked, but, obviously, he wasn't. Li just stares at Zhou with anger evident in his eyes. Zhou noticed this and decides to pour more fuel onto the fire. "Oh, I see. You think I did it, don't you?" Zhou says with a grin.

Li forcefully lets go of Zhou's collar, which sends him off balanced, and says, "Leave... Before I call for security."

"Even if I did it, you don't have any proof!" Zhou says as he tries to add more flare. Zhou looked like he was about to laugh at the state of the man in front of him.

"Please just do me one favor for once," Li says with a hint of mourn, "leave me and my son alone. This will be the first and last favor I ask of you."

"Humph!" Zhou turns for the door, but decides to keep the fire burning. "You know," he tries to start another conversation, "it is true that I am the one responsible for the death of the only heir of the Li Enterprise and there's no way I will ever feel sorry for you. Your business will slowly come into a bitter end." He turns to see President Li's reaction only to find latter looking at him with pity and not with disdain. "Wh-what are you looking at?" he says in disbelief, "Don't you care that your son's murderer is right in front of you?"

"Isn't it obvious? I pity a man who finds pleasure in other people's sufferings. It just makes them look more desperate for happiness," Li answers.

"Tsk. Don't play innocent with me because I know what your family is capable of. Why don't you try to pull something and finish me off right here and now?"

"Did you make him suffer?"

"What?" Zhou says a little taken aback.

"My son... Did you make him suffer?" Li repeats.

Zhou looks away in disdain and answers, "My men took care of him while he was subdued in the drugs I prepared for him. It was impossible for him to wake up while being beaten up."

"I see..." President Li looks at the young dead Syaoran and gives a wistful smile, "At least you didn't have to suffer." Zhou just looks at Li and raises his eyebrow. "What are you going to do, now that you know I killed your son?" Zhou asks with sarcasm.

"Nothing," Li says curtly.

"Nothing?" Zhou says with disbelief, "Your son's murderer is right in front of you and all you'll do is nothing?"

"Don't worry. I will leave everything to the hands of the police. Justice for my son will somehow and someday find its way."

"What if that day will never come? What if the police will never find out that I am the one responsible for your son's death?"

"Then, there is nothing more I can do about it."

"Bah! And I thought I could finally break your image to the public by making you obsessed with avenging your son, but it seems killing him was a waste of time, effort and money. Humph! He wouldn't be worth a penny if I knew that this would happen," Zhou walks away to leave the church.

"The Syaoran Foundation..."

"Eh?" Zhou stops at his track.

"It prioritizes the search for missing children and funds orphanages around the country. I plan to launch the Syaoran Foundation next month, which I predict the Li Enterprise will be at the peak of it's business. I'm doing this in memory of my son and he shall be remembered by many as the hope of many families who have lost their children through kidnappings, tragedies, natural calamities, etc. This way, it doesn't matter if my son is known to be the Dead Heir of the Li Enterprise now and for the days to come because, someday in the future, he will be remembered by the people to be someone who gives them hope and that is a good enough of reason for him to still live on in people's hearts."

"Humph!" Zhou leaves the church, but before he closed the door he gave one last remark, "I've had enough of you and your lectures." The sound of the door being shut made Li smile in relief. He looks at his son lying in his coffin and says, "Sorry about that, Squirt, but this is the best that I can do for you without tarnishing our family and making the media think that it really was better for you to die so you wouldn't have to bear a psychopathic father."

The scene blurs and the right part of the cart returns to normal. "Dad... Now I know why you didn't want to seek revenge. Now I feel ashamed for seeking revenge for myself," says the young Syaoran in a cracked voice. The Reaper Syaoran turns to face the young Syaoran and says, "It is time for you to take a seat and relax. It will be a very long journey to the Spirit World for you." He then gestures to the seats in the cart with his free hand. The young Syaoran walks at the same direction as the Reaper Syaoran's hand and then he takes a seat in the front. Suddenly a faint light is shining from the young Syaoran and he slowly fades until he completely disappears from sight.

"What... just happened?" Syaoran asks.

"He has now been accepted by the Spirit World. Now, judgement awaits him," the Reaper Syaoran answers.

"That child..." Fai said while in deep thought.

"What is it, Fai?" Mokona asks.

"No, nevermind. Maybe I'm just mistaken," Fai answers with his usual smile.

"You," Kurogane calls Reaper Syaoran's attention, which made the Reaper Syaoran turn and look at him indifferently. "What does it take to become a Soul Reaper?"

"That's a rather odd question for you to ask, Kuro," Fai teases.

"Shut it, you damn magician," Kurogane barks at Fai. His attention then returns to the Reaper Syaoran. "Well? Aren't you going to answer me? In our tradition, to be a soul reaper you will need to die at a time that you shouldn't be dead, but I don't know if that applies with the real thing."

The Reaper Syaoran just looks at Kurogane and answers, "You need to be one of the first out of all the same souls to be created..." the Reaper Syaoran trails off and glances at Syaoran, then continues, "... and then be the first to die before any of the others."

"Wait a minute. Does that mean you used to be alive yourself?" Mokona asks, surprised by what the Reaper Syaoran said.

"What happened?" Syaoran asks grimly.

The Reaper Syaoran stares at Syaoran and thinks whether to tell them or not. He closes his eyes to remember what happened when he died. He remembers himself mourning while some men threw the beaten corpse of his family in a very deep pit. At first, they ignored him, but then a loud, eerie metallic sound was heard and he blacks out all of the sudden. The next thing he knew it, he was all tied up around his wrists and ankles. As he was lying down, he could smell blood and death in the air as he realizes that he was lying on the corpse pile of his family. Suddenly, a bolt of pain can be felt behind his head and he realizes that he was feeling a little lightheaded. He looks up to the surface and see some men carrying shovels. That was when he realized what was about to happen - he was going to be buried alive. At first, it was just a drizzle of dirt, but as seconds passed the drizzle became a waterfall of dirt. Even though the soil has already covered most of his body, he could still hear some of the men talking in the surface. "With the massacre of the Lis, it will be an opening for our family to gain power," says an unknown voice.

The Reaper Syaoran, still having his eyes closed, cringes at the memory and a wrinkle can be seen forming in between his eyebrows. It was the first time the travelers saw a different expression on the Reaper Syaoran's face other than his indifferent, mysterious demeanor. Syaoran sensed that this topic was a little too meddlesome to talk about, so he tells the Reaper Syaoran, "On second thought, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

The Reaper Syaoran faces Syaoran and says, "Time..."

"What?" Syaoran asks puzzled. The Reaper Syaoran was about to answer Syaoran until Mokona suddenly jumps and says, "Mekyo!" which made everybody turn to her direction. "It's time for us to go to the next world!" She spreads her wings and starts to swallow everybody.

"What the-?" Kurogane says.

"Huh? Already? But we just got here," Fai complains.

"Wait!," Syaoran quickly turns to the Reaper Syaoran. "What was it you were about to say?" Syaoran quickly asks him.

"Your time... It ticks slower than the others," the Reaper Syaoran answers.

"What do you mean?"

"Enjoy your life... while time is still by your side," the Reaper Syaoran mysteriously answers.

"Eh?" With that, Mokona finishes swallowing the travelers and goes through the magic circle, leaving only a faint light on the ground until it disappears. Silence returns to the cart as the Reaper Syaoran just stares at the area where the travelers used to stand. The silence of his cart breaks when the Reaper Syaoran hears a voice behind him saying, "Dimensional travelers, eh? I wonder how they passed through the barrier of the Spirit World." Without turning around to see who it was, the Reaper Syaoran asks, "What are you doing here, Fûma?"

The Reaper Fûma just chuckles at his fellow Soul Reaper and says, "I just came for a visit. Why, is there a problem?"

"None," the Reaper Syaoran says curtly as he investigates his cart.

"You know," the Reaper Fûma starts. "You could've left that kid alone and let him have his vengeance."

The Reaper Syaoran stopped at his tracks the moment he heard the remark of the Reaper Fûma. He knew exactly what the Reaper Fûma was talking about, so he answers, "If I did, then he would've become a vengeful spirit roaming around an unfamiliar world where the person he seeks vengeance upon can never be found. It will literally be hell on earth."

The Reaper Fûma chuckles more cheerfully and remarks, "You're soft for someone who rarely shows emotions and who is always so serious."

The train suddenly comes to a stop. "Hm? Another client, eh? I wonder whose it is." The Reaper Syaoran turns to face the door of his cart. As he turns around, his form suddenly changes from a child's body to a teenager's.

"I guess, it's yours then. Man, your minor citizen death tolls are rising rapidly. Most of the Li Syaorans you've entertained so far were all between the ages of seven and twenty-eight and rarely went above those age. At this rate, all of the Li Syaorans will become extinct," the Reaper Fûma says jokingly, but suddenly notices something unusual. "Hm?"

"What is it?" the Reaper Syaoran asks.

"You look more relaxed. Is it because of the Syaoran who coincidentally came here when it wasn't yet his time?" the Reaper Fûma smiles.

"There is no such thing as coincidence; only inevitability" the Reaper Syaoran says as he passes by the Reaper Fûma.

"I'm curious. What happened?" the Reaper Fûma asks while his eyes follow the Reaper Syaoran. The Reaper Syaoran stops and answers, "His time passes slower than the rest of the other souls."

"Does that mean he, out of all the souls you will entertain in the future, will be the only one who will die a natural death?"

The Reaper Syaoran shrugs, but does not answer immediately. After a moment of silence, he finally answers, "Probably..." and then continues on his way to the entrance of his cart.

"Well, I think you'll be a little busy so I'll take my leave now," says the Reaper Fûma as he heads for the door which Kurogane couldn't open earlier. The Reaper Syaoran didn't see the need to reply. The Reaper Fûma opens the door easily as if it were just an everyday routine. Just before he leaves to return to his own cart, the Reaper Fûma turns and tells the Reaper Syaoran, "You know, you could at least smile to your younger clients or else you'll scare them off the train, not that they could actually leave. You know what I mean." After telling the Reaper Syaoran that, he closes the door behind him.

The Reaper Syaoran is now left alone in his cart. "Smile?" the Reaper Syaoran says as a small smile creeps into his lips. "I've never done that for a very long time now." A new client steps into the Reaper Syaoran's cart, but this time it was a teenage Syaoran. The new client looked around in confusion and the Reaper Syaoran steps in front of him.

In a warmer and more relaxed expression on his face, he asks his new client, "What has caused you to board this train?"


End file.
